People often live for years with dementia. While it can be difficult to think of these diseases as terminal, they do eventually lead to death. Caregivers often experience special challenges surrounding the end of life of someone with dementia in part because the disease progression is so unpredictable. Below are some considerations for end-of-life care for people with dementia. Making… Continue reading End-of-Life Care for People With Dementia
Tag: hospice
Study: A Need to Rethink Hospice Admissions
Many older adults are admitted to hospice for only a short amount of time, even though they have been experiencing symptoms months before the end of life, researchers say. The Yale-led study highlights the need for earlier hospice admission or other strategies to address such cases. The study was published on September 12 in the… Continue reading Study: A Need to Rethink Hospice Admissions
End-of-Life Care Often Inadequate
People whose loved ones are dying appear to be significantly dissatisfied with the care the patients are getting, according to a new survey published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. “People are less satisfied with care at the close of life, and I think it’s now urgent for us to start thinking about what interventions… Continue reading End-of-Life Care Often Inadequate
Cancer Patients in Hospice Avoid Aggressive Care and High Costs
More patients with cancer use hospice today than ever before, but there are indications that care intensity outside of hospice is increasing, and length of hospice stay decreasing. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) examined how hospice affects health care utilization and costs and found that in a sample of elderly Medicare patients with… Continue reading Cancer Patients in Hospice Avoid Aggressive Care and High Costs
Too Many Patients Are Delaying Hospice Care
Although hospice can benefit terminally ill patients over a period of time, one in six cancer patients enroll it in only during the last three days of life, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, also revealed a profile of the kind of patient… Continue reading Too Many Patients Are Delaying Hospice Care
Antibiotic Use Prevalent in Hospices
The use of antibiotics is still prevalent among terminal patients who have chosen hospice care as an end-of-life option, despite little evidence that the medications improve symptoms or quality of life, and sometimes may cause unwanted side effects. That is the finding of a study done at Oregon State University and the Oregon Health & Science University and published on July 14th 2014 in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.